Looking to make your wardrobe more sustainable? You don’t need a complete wardrobe overhaul. In fact, you don’t need an overhaul at all. What you do need is quite the opposite. If you’re wondering how to make the switch to a more sustainable fashion experience, we’ve got you three basic starting points.
Unsubscribe from emailing lists. And while you’re at it, delete those shopping apps, too. This is literally the easiest way to stave off buying and giving in to trends. Brand emails and handy apps make shopping convenient and tempting. There’s no FOMO when you don’t know what the newest item on offer is. Another great step is to unfollow influencers who are constantly pushing consumption, while following more people who align with your ideology.
Mend and repair. Now, before you throw your arms up in resignation, because you can’t thread a needle to save your life, or because it’s just too much work, hear us out. No one said you need to do it yourself. Make a bag of all your mending and drop it off at a tailor’s. If you’d rather do it yourself, but time is a constraint, you could try this little hack that worked for us: Block two hours off on one Saturday, a month, to catch up on your mending. Because in a world obsessed with consumption, repairing our clothes is, as Orsola de Crasto calls it, a revolutionary act!
Take stock of your wardrobe. It’s time for some spring cleaning! Take out everything from your cupboards. Especially the stuff right at the back. Essentials and clothes you wear often, go right back in. As for the clothes you haven’t been wearing, figure out why. If a shirt’s unworn because you’ve been procrastinating on fixing that button, add it to your mending bag. If you haven’t worn something because you ‘weren’t in the mood’ and it’s been a year, already, accept that you’re never going to wear it. Same for that pair of trousers you ‘will one day fit into’. Give them to someone who you know will wear them, resell or donate.
When you take stock of your wardrobe, and get stuff mended, you realise how much you already have and how much you don’t need. It’ll help you avoid those shopping sprees.
